Last week, 22 new council homes in Leyland were completed.
It's a moment I'm genuinely proud of, and one I've been looking forward to since the Leyland Town Deal was first announced, when I was Council Leader.
These 16 townhouses and six apartments are the first phase of a £34 million regeneration project, and they represent exactly the kind of housing our town has been crying out for — good quality, genuinely affordable, and owned by the local council rather than a private landlord.
Priority has rightly gone to households with a real connection to Leyland, allocated fairly through the council's Select Move system.
Our new Prime Minister has committed to the biggest council housebuilding programme this country has seen since the post-war period, and we at South Ribble are ahead of the curve.
For too long, council housebuilding was allowed to wither, and families across our towns and villages have paid the price through soaring rents and years-long waiting lists.
I welcome Andy Burnham's determination to make it a national priority again.
The scale of demand for the Quin Street homes tells its own story.
The sheer number of bids for just 22 properties shows, beyond any doubt, how badly we need more council housing here and across the country.
It's not a marginal concern — it's one of the defining challenges facing local families, and I'll keep pressing for the investment South Ribble needs.
But I do want to address something directly.
False claims have been circulating online suggesting these homes are somehow reserved for asylum seekers.
They are not.
I've had this confirmed by the council: asylum seekers aren't eligible for the housing register or for council housing while their claim is being decided — that responsibility sits with the Home Office, not the council.
Refugees who have been granted leave to remain can apply like any other resident, but they receive no preferential treatment.
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This kind of misinformation causes real harm.
It stokes division, distracts from the genuine housing crisis we face, and is deeply unfair to the local families anxiously waiting to hear if their bid was successful.
I would urge anyone to please check the facts before sharing claims like this, and trust the council's own published position over rumour.
South Ribble deserves more homes like these — and it deserves an honest conversation about who they're for.
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